


Short Stories of Sorts

by Mademoisellesnowflake



Series: A Love Story of Sorts [3]
Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types, Romeo et Juliette - Presgurvic
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2019-10-17 21:51:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17568587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mademoisellesnowflake/pseuds/Mademoisellesnowflake
Summary: One shots set in my A Love Story of Sorts series since apparently I can't not write for it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All of this has been written with my phone so either it'll look good or it's a disaster. I'm hoping for the former.
> 
> (And yes, I know I said I won't write more for the universe but I never do what I say.)

Vittorio woke up with a start. He was sitting on the sofa in the living room and the TV was open, showing some late-night reruns of some new soap opera. He must have fallen asleep after all the exhaustion of the previous day, after Paris’ work-related stress and the letter Vittorio hadn't been able to open until he knew that Mercutio and Valentine - his boys - were sleeping.

He had needed to read the letter multiple times until he believed the text in it.

As Vittorio reached out for the remote to turn off the TV, he noticed the slumped figure next to him. The figure’s long hair was hiding its face as it rocked back and forth, sniffling occasionally. It was wearing Mercutio's T-shirt and slacks and it was pressing his hands together like Mercutio did when he wasn't feeling good.

“Mercutio?” Vittorio asked softly and reached out to brush Mercutio's long hair away from his face. “What is it, my boy?”

“I had a nightmare”, Mercutio whispered hoarsely, “where you died. I came looking for you and panicked when I couldn't wake you.”

Vittorio's heart missed a beat as he listened to Mercutio. “Oh, Mercutio”, he said, hugging his shaken nephew and pulling him closer to himself. “I'm right here. I can stay awake with you if you need me to.”

“You shouldn't”, Mercutio muttered, “it's not good for you to miss sleep like you do. You already worry about me too much.” He wriggled himself out of Vittorio's embrace and tried to smile at him. “I'm fine; I just needed to see that you're alive. I'll go back to sleep in a moment.”

Vittorio shook his head and hugged Mercutio again. The boy was clearly shaken from his nightmare and was just playing strong to fool his uncle. Too bad that Vittorio's brother had been like that too and Vittorio knew all the ways Mercutio could use to fool his uncle. Mercutio was still having hard time trusting people, his uncle included.

“Don't try that on me, Mercutio”, Vittorio said, hoping that Mercutio would finally learn to not downplay his bad feelings. “I can sacrifice one night's sleep if you need it, really. I've gone on far less sleep than that.”

“What's going on?” asked Valentine's voice from behind Vittorio. Vittorio turned his head around to see Valentine who looked like he'd woken up only moments ago. “Woke up to go to the bathroom and heard you talking. Wanted to see if everything is alright.”

“Mercutio woke up from a nightmare and panicked”, Vittorio explained and motioned Valentine to sit down on the sofa as well. “I was trying to calm him down. You need anything?”

Valentine shook his head as he sat down next to Vittorio and patted Mercutio's hand a little awkwardly. Valentine had grown a lot since the autumn Mercutio had become friends with the Montagues and Juliet. He needed new clothes, Vittorio noticed, as he looked at the boy who had grown at least four inches in such a short time. His face was beginning to look more and more like Mercutio's, which made Vittorio happy in some unexplained way a parent must feel happy about their child.

“It's good you're both awake”, Vittorio said to the boys, “since I have something I want to tell you. I was going to wait until the morning but I could as well tell you now. I got a very important letter from the jury today, concerning the two of you. The paperwork has been done and you both are now officially my adopted sons. Took them long enough, really.”

Valentine blinked. Then he blinked again and hugged Vittorio with more force than he had ever used. He laughed shakily as Vittorio returned the hug with one arm as he was still hugging Mercutio with the other. Mercutio, on the other hand, was looking at Vittorio disbelievingly.

“For real?” Mercutio asked with a small voice. “You've adopted us for real?”

“For real”, Vittorio said, smiling proudly at Mercutio. “Did you think this would stop being your home someday? You really are always welcome here, even after you move out someday. It'll still be your home.”

“I...I must have been thinking I'd eventually move out and not return”, Mercutio mumbled and squeezed his eyes shut. “I thought...I thought this was only temporary, that you'd only look after me until I was ready to move out.”

Vittorio hugged his boys even tighter. Valentine was sniffling a little as he clung onto his uncle, trying to believe that it was not in fact a dream. Mercutio was blinking his eyes and smiling a little. They stayed like that for some time and Vittorio wondered how something so terrible as losing his brother had given him something as great as two adoptive sons whom he already loved so much.

“Will you be able to sleep?” Vittorio asked softly after some moments.

Mercutio nodded. “I might need to make sure that this wasn't a dream in the morning”, he said and smiled. “Thank you, uncle.”

Vittorio smiled proudly and sent his boys off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tybalt meets a niece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, continuation has happened! I don't know how many people are actually going to be reading this but I hope that those who do like this story!!

The little bundle in Tybalt's arms was screeching. Its face was red and voice so shrill that Tybalt's ears were actually hurting. It had been dressed in pale blue and pink clothes that probably were very fitting when it was not screaming and red-faced.

“You're not holding her right”, Romeo said, smiling politely at Tybalt. “You need to support her head and rock her; that'll calm her down.”

Tybalt wasn't happy to have Romeo explaining how to hold the baby but he swallowed his pride before he could say something mean to his cousin's husband. Tybalt was so desperately willing to learn to control his anger that he'd decided to keep his cool even around the Montagues. He just wanted someone to realise that he wasn't the violent boy he'd used to be. He really wished that someone would be proud of him for calming down his behaviour.

“I think you should take her”, Tybalt said to Romeo, “since she really isn't happy being with me.”

“Oh, come on, Tybalt, you'll learn!” Romeo said reassuringly as he took his little daughter away from Tybalt. “It took Juliet and I a long time to learn all the things we need to know.”

Tybalt looked jealously at Romeo who was carrying the baby around the living room while Juliet sat on the sofa, watching them fondly. Tybalt had realised too late that he would possibly want a child too but due to the laws he couldn't adopt one with Paris. He'd have to settle with the role of an uncle and share that role rather unwillingly with Mercutio and Benvolio.

“You'll learn”, Juliet agreed and tapped the sofa to invite Tybalt to sit next to her. “Benvolio was the only one she liked from the beginning and even he got his nose grabbed. Mercutio had his hair pulled when they first met her.”

Tybalt smiled a little at the mental image as he sat down. “She takes after me, then”, he said. “She's already picking fights with Mercutio. We must tell her not to bee too mean to him.”

“She'll learn”, Juliet said as she looked at Romeo. He was singing to the baby and dancing around the living room which made the baby giggle.

“What are you going to name her?” Tybalt asked suddenly. It was odd to think of the bundle only as ‘the baby’ even though he knew for a fact that Julier had been called ‘the baby’ for at least a month because her parents hadn't been able to decide on a name.

“Valeria”, Juliet said. “We almost called her Valentina since she was born on Valentine's Day but that was too close to Valentine and it would have confused us and Mercutio. Possibly Paris too.”

Romeo had moved towards Tybalt while he had been talking to Juliet and suddenly there was a baby - Valeria - in Tybalt's arms. Tybalt braced himself for another screech but instead Valeria just smiled, melting Tybalt's heart.

“See, I said you'd learn!” Romeo said, earning a glare from Tybalt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments warm my heart :^) Suggestions for future chapters are also welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mercutio has a bad day and hugs happen.
> 
> Enter Benvolio (finally) with some hugs at the end.

Mercutio sometimes had sudden and unexpected bouts of crying. Before he'd allowed his uncle to get close to him, he’d suffer through them alone, not letting even Valentine in his room when he was having his episodes. After he'd allowed Vittorio to actually get to know him, Mercutio had learned to accept his comfort too.

One evening, when Vittorio was downloading some old family videos into his new laptop, Mercutio rushed into his room straight after coming home. Vittorio heard ragged breathing from Mercutio's room and rubbed his eyes in defeat. He needed to go check up on his fragile nephew who always acted tougher than he was. Vittorio simply couldn't leave Mercutio alone when he was suffering.

“Go away!” Mercutio yelled from his room as Vittorio knocked on the door. Mercutio's voice was thick with tears and just a little bit surprised. Vittorio shook his head and opened the door.

Mercutio was standing in the middle of his room, leaning forward with his knees bent a little, and he was squeezing the chest of his hoodie while the other hand was drying his eyes in a very childlike manner. There were soft and distressed noises escaping Mercutio's throat and a bruise forming on Mercutio's temple.

Vittorio placed his hand on Mercutio's chest and rubbed it with his thumb. Mercutio's breath hitched and he nearly fell sideways into Vittorio's arms. Vittorio shushed Mercutio as he helped Mercutio to sit down on his bed, still holding Mercutio close. He rocked Mercutio back and forth, much like he'd done when Mercutio was little and afraid during the night Valentine was born.

“What brought this on?” Vittorio asked quietly, continuing to soothe Mercutio as well as he could.

Mercutio hiccuped. “I was in a fight”, he said, still trying to dry his tears like a child would: his hands were clenched into fists and he was rubbing them on his eyes. “Some punk said that you only adopted me and Valentine to look good in others’ eyes and I punched him. Juliette and Benvolio had to drag me away from him.”

Rage filled Vittorio's heart. Someone had hurt Mercutio with cruel words like that and now Mercutio was broken once again, spilling his heart to Vittorio.

“Then I started doubting it”, Mercutio whispered, “because the punk was so sure of himself. You do care about us, right? Valentine and I, we're not just some trophy to boost your status,  _ right _ ?”

Vittorio squeezed Mercutio's shoulders and hugged him tighter. “He was wrong, Mercutio. You and Valentine needed someone and I couldn't ignore it. I had the means to provide you two a safe home and a reminder that you're always welcome back, even after you move out, and I took my chance.”

Mercutio nodded shakily and pressed himself against his uncle's chest. He was hiding his face, looking a little ashamed at his outburst. Vittorio shook his head and sighed.

“Remember our promise, Mercutio?” Vittorio asked softly. “There's no shame in crying or having a panic attack.”

Mercutio nodded and was about to answer but he was cut out by a noise that sounded like running from downstairs. The source of the noise turned out to be Benvolio Montague who ran into Mercutio's room, followed by Valentine and Paris who had let him in. Benvolio knelt down in front of Mercutio and grabbed both of his hands.

“I was worried”, Benvolio breathed, “since you left so suddenly. Are you alright? Do you need me to get you anything?”

“A hug”, Mercutio mumbled and suddenly Benvolio had an armful of Mercutio hugging him on the floor. Benvolio laughed in surprise and hugged Mercutio back. Valentine joined the hug and the boys fell down on the floor.

It was then that Vittorio knew Mercutio was in good arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments warm my soul!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another sorta dark chapter happens! For the next one, I'll try to make a happier one, I promise :"D

A shrill scream pierced Valentine's consciousness. He shot up, trying to understand where he was and what could have caused such a blood-stopping noise. As he began to recognise his own room, he realised that the sound had to have been Mercutio waking up from another nightmare of  _ that _ day. Valentine untangled himself from the mess of the bedsheets and got up, rushing towards Mercutio's room. The lights were on and Valentine could hear uncle Vittorio's voice repeating the mantra of  _ it's alright, you're safe, I'm here, it's alright Mercutio, it was just a dream, you're not in the car anymore _ .

Valentine stepped inside the room as quietly as he could so he wouldn't alarm Mercutio. He looked at the scene of his uncle rocking Mercutio back and forth in a tight embrace while Mercutio was extending his arm towards  _ something _ that Valentine couldn't see. After just a moment, Valentine could hear Paris shuffling behind him, having woken up to the scream as well.

“She was alive”, Mercutio whispered on the exact moment Valentine started climbing on Mercutio's bed, ready to hold and comfort him. “Mother was still alive when the first responders came to the scene...if they'd helped her first, she'd have made it.”

Valentine's blood ran cold. Was Mercutio telling the truth? Had he actually kept it a secret all those years, letting the truth eat away at his heart like poison? Had the secret caused Mercutio's breakdown on his birthday? All those questions filled Valentine's head instantly.

“No, she wouldn't have made it”, uncle Vittorio said firmly. He pulled Valentine into the hug as well before opening his mouth again. “They couldn't open the car door fast enough to help her which is why they decided to help you first. She wouldn't have made it and neither would have you if they'd tried to help her first.”

“No”, Mercutio whispered and pulled away from the embrace, only to be caught by Paris. “You're wrong. That can't be the truth, uncle, it just can't. She told me she would be okay, she would never have lied to me.”

Uncle Vittorio hugged Mercutio again. This time Mercutio returned the hug, looking a little defeated. He looked like he didn't want to accept the truth and yet he had no other choice. Valentine wriggled a little bit closer to Mercutio and hugged him as well.

“Do you boys need anything?” uncle Vittorio asked as he let go of Mercutio. “Some cocoa, maybe? I could make us all some if you want.”

Mercutio and Paris nodded immediately and uncle Vittorio stood up. He had to wait for Valentine's nod a little as Valentine was too occupied by hugging Mercutio. He was still trying to process all the new information he had learned that night.

While uncle Vittorio was away, Paris pulled Mercutio into a hug. For a moment, Mercutio managed to keep his emotions in check before the dam broke. All it took was one sniffle before Mercutio was full on crying, letting out the secret tht had been eating away in his heart. Mercutio was leaning his chin on Paris’ shoulder and all his tears were rolling down on Paris’ back. Paris was rubbing Mercutio's back while Valentine sat on Mercutio's bed, feeling useless. As Mercutio eventually calmed down, Paris helped him to lean on thr wall behind his bed and fetched a tissue for Mercutio to blow his nose on.

“It's gonna be alright, buddy”, Paris said, “I know it'll all be fine.”

Mercutio nodded, leaning towards Valentine. He hugged Valentine and softly apologised to him for waking him up in the night. Valentine hugged him back, saying that he would never be angry at Mercutio for that.

After drinking their cocoa that uncle Vittorio had made, Valentine decided to stay with Mercutio for the night. He needed the closeness and he was sure that Mercutio could do with a few more hugs. As their uncle turned off the lights, Mercutio hugged Valentine.

“I'm very lucky, you know”, Mercutio whispered, “since I have the kindest little brother in the world. I don't understand how you still stand me.”

“Easily”, Valentine mumbled and smiled. “I'm simply following your example.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments warm my soul!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter is up! I believe this is my longest one yet :^) This time we have a dysfunctional dinner and hearts-to-hearts between multiple people.

Benvolio was feeling conflicted. He was having dinner at home with Mercutio, Paris and...Tybalt Capulet, of all the people in the world! Ever since Mercutio had been stabbed, Tybalt had sort of hung around, helping Mercutio and Benvolio all while trying to figure out his relationship with Paris. It had been sort of a shock to Benvolio to realise that Tybalt and Paris were dating as Benvolio had assumed they were more interested in women. Mercutio, on the other hand, had welcomed the news with glee, as he'd realised that Tybalt would now have to deal with Mercutio more often.

Which was a disaster in the making.

Tybalt was mostly quiet while Mercutio and Paris chatted cheerfully about their days and lives in general. He complimented the food - Benvolio's special pasta sauce, as Mercutio had dubbed it - making Benvolio feel a little proud of it. It felt odd to be dining with a man whom Benvolio had considered an enemy of sorts.

“So, how are your studies going, Benvolio?” Paris asked suddenly. It took Benvolio a moment to process the question, as he'd been too preoccupied with his thoughts.

“They're going pretty fine; I've just got one test before graduation”, Benvolio said, trying to sound cheerful. “And I've already got a job secured. So pretty great, I'd say.”

Mercutio grinned proudly as Benvolio looked down at his plate again. The whole situation felt so awkward, even though neither Tybalt nor Mercutio was staring daggers at anyone. Tybalt was actually acting normal - although he was not smiling - which, to Benvolio, did not feel right.

“Where will you be working?” Tybalt asked. For a moment, Benvolio was sure his heart had stopped, as he hadn't heard Tybalt talking at all during the evening. His voice was surprisingly soft, Benvolio noticed, now that he was not yelling.

“At Lupo's”, Benvolio told quietly, “you know, that restaurant with the little wolf statue at the door. With Romulus and Remus.”

“Oh, we've been there, haven't we, Tybalt?” Paris chirped, smiling at Tybalt who nodded. “We went there a few weeks ago after a sightseeing since I'm new in the city. Their risotto was heavenly.”

“It was very good”, Tybalt agreed. Benvolio had to force himself to stop gaping so obviously at Tybalt so that the others wouldn't think he was acting weird. He could feel Mercutio grinning at him, finding his behaviour delighting.

The conversation continued and Benvolio found out that Paris had moved to Mantua, to an apartment in a nearby building with Tybalt. Mercutio remarked how lonely their uncle probably felt with only Valentine in the house with him. Benvolio felt sorry for them as he knew how big and suffocating the house could feel like.

After the meal was done, Benvolio stayed in the kitchen to clean up the table and to catch his breath. Somehow, the meal had exhausted him totally and he felt like he needed a moment alone. As he'd gathered all the dishes into the dishwasher and turned it on, he noticed Tybalt standing in the kitchen, staring at him. Benvolio jumped and turned around, almost falling down in the process.

“Sorry”, Tybalt said, “did I scare you?”

“A little”, Benvolio mumbled. He hadn't heard Tybalt approaching at all.

“Paris said you acted weird during the dinner”, Tybalt said, “if it was something I said or did, I wanted to apologise.”

_ Tybalt Capulet apologising to a Montague? _ Benvolio thought.  _ Has the world gone mad? _

“It...it was not something you did”, Benvolio said as he sat down on one of the vacant chairs. “It's...I don't know how to act around you. You used to hate us - me, Romeo, and Mercutio - for so long and now...now you suddenly don't. It makes no sense to me.”

Tybalt frowned a little before nodding. He leaned on one of the kitchen counters and sighed. He rubbed his temple and looked at Benvolio.

“I know the feeling”, Tybalt admitted, “since dealing with...with Romeo is still weird. I'm trying to be calmer and stop being so violent and it feels odd to force myself to find new solutions to my problems.”

“But you're trying anyway”, Benvolio said rather quietly. “That's what counts.”

Tybalt nodded and made a face that was quite not a smile but not a frown either. He left the kitchen and Benvolio could hear him saying that he was going to go outside for a smoke. What surprised Benvolio was that Mercutio said that he would go outside too since he wanted some fresh air.

After Tybalt and Mercutio had left the apartment, Benvolio made his way to the balcony with Paris on his heels. They were going to eavesdrop a little, to make sure nothing bad would happen. To their surprise, Mercutio and Tybalt were chatting nicely, almost friendlily. It sounded like they were friends and if Benvolio didn't know how they'd hated each other, he could have thought it was just two friends chatting the evening away.

“And the stab wound, how's it been healing?” Tybalt asked. His voice sounded a lot gentler than Benvolio had ever heard it - although he'd never heard much of Tybalt's voice anyway.

“It's doing good”, Mercutio answered cheerfully, “the doctors said that there'll be a scar but that thanks to you, the bleeding was stopped in time.”

“Good”, Tybalt said. After a moment of silence, he added, “have you noticed that our boyfriends are eavesdropping on us?”

“What?” Mercutio asked and looked up, his eyes locking with Benvolio's. He smiled brightly, like a lonely street light in the darkness of the sidewalk. “Why are you eavesdropping, Benvolio? Don't you trust us to behave?”

“I...was worried”, Benvolio mumbled, blushing a little. That made Mercutio smile even wider and gently push his fist against Tybalt's arm. Tybalt answered by doing the same and soon the two young men were gently hitting each other's arms and staring at Benvolio and Paris.

“Oh no, we're fighting now!” Mercutio said, grinning. Tybalt wasn't exactly frowning, there was a certain softness to his eyes, but he still looked rather nonchalant. Benvolio couldn't help but smile as well, seeing as his partner was being so delightfully foolish.

Later in the evening, after Tybalt and Paris had left and Mercutio and Benvolio were getting ready for bed, Benvolio noticed a bruise on Mercutio's arm. He brushed his fingers against the bruise, wondering if their life would always be like that with Tybalt around.

“It doesn't hurt”, Mercutio said, sensing the unsaid question. “Did you notice how open and almost vulnerable he was tonight? I can't remember ever seeing him like that. Being together with Paris is doing him good.”

“Do you wish it had been you that he loved?” Benvolio asked after a moment of silence. Mercutio looked into his eyes for a moment before shaking his head.

“No”, Mercutio said softly, “I've got you after all. I'm just happy he seems to have found someone to love. He was never evil, he just believed everything he had been told about family and honour.”

Mercutio lay down on the bed and pulled Benvolio down as well. He smiled and hugged Benvolio who pulled the covers up to warm them a little.

“Goodnight”, Benvolio whispered and kissed Mercutio's forehead, to which Mercutio replied by kissing Benvolio's neck.

It had been a good evening, Benvolio thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments still feed my soul!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally from my tumblr (talvenhenki), an anon asked me "Can you do “Is the fever getting to you or what?”-something with Mercutio + anyone else from RetJ? Not much of a deal if you can’t tho" and of course I did :D

It had been an odd day. Val had called Benvolio that morning and told that Mercutio couldn’t go out with Benvolio because he’d caught a cold and was sporting a high fever. Benvolio had sighed and askee if he could come over to see Mercutio.

Which was how he’d ended up sitting on the floor of Mercutio’s room with Juliet, naturally. She’d somehow been informed and had decided that she wanted to see Mercutio too. Mercutio was rambling sleepily about a dream he’d had and kept smiling at Benvolio.

“Is he always like this when he’s sick?” Juliet asked when Val entered the room with some tea for Mercutio.

“He doesn’t get sick often but yes, he was this weird the last time too”, Val said as he gave the tea to Mercutio while Benvolio helped Mercutio to sit up. “Dad had to sleep in his room to make sure he wouldn’t move all over the place while the rest of us were sleeping.”

As Val spoke, Mercutio snuggled closer to Benvolio who had sat down on the edge of Mercutio’s bed. He rubbed his forehead against Benvolio’s cheek and sighed.

“You’re soft like a summer breeze, Benvolio”, Mercutio whispered and giggled quietly. Val rolled his eyes at his brother’s ridiculousness.

“Hey, hey, hey, you’re sounding exactly like Romeo and his bad poetry”, Benvolio said and pressed his cheek against Mercutio’s forehead to feel his temperature. “Is the fever getting to you or what? I’m starting to smell honey in here.”

Mercutio stuck out his tongue at Benvolio. “Ha, very funny”, he said as he tried and failed to look offended. “I meant your ugly sweater. It’s soft.”

“Says the one in the ugly pajamas”, Benvolio quipped back, smiling widely.

By this point both Juliet and Val were rolling their eyes. They had been completely ignored by the lovebirds in front of them.

“Benvolio is right; they’re being so sweet I can smell honey in here”, Juliet said. “I hope he doesn’t catch whatever Mercutio is having.”

Which, only naturally, Benvolio did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> your thoughts would be much appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stabber is found and Tybalt experiences feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and sorry for not posting for a while! I've got a bit of a flu and I hope the story here is coherent enough to read & enjoyable. Mercutio is still very fun to write, especially from someone else's pov.

Tybalt had been deep in thought when something, or someone, barreled into him on the empty street. His mother had called him that morning and told him that a friend of his from high school had been arrested for stabbing someone. His mother had not known who had been stabbed; instead she'd told how worried she'd been about Tybalt having hung around such a dangerous boy.

As Tybalt turned to investigate the thing that had hit him, his eyes fell on the infuriating grin of Mercutio. Tybalt glared at him as he threw his arm around Tybalt's shoulders.

“What are you doing?” Tybalt asked as Mercutio began leading him somewhere.

“Taking you to a gelateria, obviously!” Mercutio said, laughing, and continued dragging Tybalt away. Tybalt rolled his eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to run away from Mercutio.

At the gelateria the two ordered some ice cream - mango for Mercutio and pistachio for Tybalt - and they sat at one of tables near the little window. Tybalt poked at the cookie on his ice cream as he watched Mercutio eat. He felt oddly curious about why Mercutio looked so happy as of a sudden - from what little Paris had told, Mercutio had been a little under the weather for a few weeks.

“So, why did you drag me into a gelateria?” Tybalt asked after a moment. “Is it the heat that makes you want ice cream or is this some sort of celebration?”

“It's a celebration; they found the guy who stabbed me!” Mercutio said, mouth full of ice cream. Tybalt noticed the woman at the counter crossing herself furiously as she heard the word ‘stab’. “Turns out the guy wasn't meaning to stab me and that he ran after freaking out because he stabbed the wrong person. He confessed to the police yesterday.”

“That's… good?” Tybalt offered. “Do you know the guy's name?”

“I was just getting to that”, Mercutio told, “apparently he went to the same school as us! I think I'd seen you with him a few times. His name was Matteo something, you know, the guy with green eyes.”

Tybalt felt anger rising in his chest. Matteo Ferro, the quiet boy who had always made fun of Mercutio, even when Tybalt had been hanging around him. Now he knew whom his mother had talked about in the morning.

“You remember him”, Mercutio said and Tybalt cursed himself for forgetting how observing Mercutio could be. “You know, he was apparently targeting you instead of me. They said something about him being mad that you found happiness while he didn't.”

Tybalt accidentally inhaled some of his ice cream and began coughing uncontrollably. How Mercutio could say something like that and sound so nonchalant was beyond Tybalt. That also explained why Tybalt's mother had sounded so worried that morning. As the last pieces of the ice cream was out of Tybalt's throat, he gave Mercutio a glare.

“If it was really Matteo, he deserves no sympathy for what he did”, Tybalt said and wiped his mouth. “He must have been an idiot to think that he wouldn't be caught.”

Mercutio nodded as he continued eating his ice cream. After finishing it, he stood up and picked up his jacket.

“I better get going so Ben won't worry about me too much”, Mercutio said. “You better make sure you won't blame yourself too much either.”

As Mercutio left the gelateria, the woman behind the counter crossed herself once more while Tybalt was left staring dumbfounded after Mercutio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments warm my heart!


End file.
